Simon: It's not all about being nice

Simon Mignolet puts Liverpool's fine form this season down to a certain Melwood culture, which sees the players demand the utmost of each other on a daily basis.

The Belgian was between the sticks as the Reds climbed to the Barclays Premier League summit with a 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday.

It was the team's eighth consecutive victory in the league - and the whole scene was played out in front of one of the finest atmospheres the Kop has generated for some time.

Spurs were speared with an early penetrating move - rounded off by a Younes Kaboul own goal - and from there, Liverpool refused to relent, sweeping four past the opposition.

Spirits are sky high and camaraderie has been key; however, Mignolet insists it's not all about pats on the back and niceties out on the training pitches and in the dressing room.

"Everyone works for each other, everyone is demanding of each other which is always important if you want to win games," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"It is not about being 'nicey nicey' with each other, it is about making sure we do the things right individually and as a group.

"We have some characters in the dressing room who are always there to make sure we train in a perfect manner. It is not only the players who are playing, but also those on the bench and the guys who are not playing.

"They are as happy as the guys on the pitch and sometimes that is more important than any single individual who scores the goals."

The Spurs demolition propelled the Reds to pole position in the Premier League, two points clear of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, who slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Later the same day, Manchester City and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium, meaning Liverpool were the only top-four team to take three points at the weekend.

However, Mignolet, like the rest of the squad, is refusing to get carried away with the current league standings - and he insist the only focus for the team now is on West Ham United at Upton Park on Sunday.

"We knew what happened on Saturday with the results coming in, but in all fairness it doesn't make any difference," he explained.

"You just win your own game and look at your own performance. It is not about the other teams around us, it is more about what we have to do than be looking over our shoulder.

"We don't really think what the opponents have to do, we think about what we have to do and think about our jobs. That is far more important for us as a team.

"The next game is West Ham and straight after the Tottenham win we were speaking about that game next Sunday.

"There is no point in looking beyond that. We did our jobs against Tottenham and from Monday onwards there is only one thing in our minds and that is to prepare ourselves for the game against West Ham."